Switching to AQA: from OCR

The subject content is divided into six sections:

• Business in the real world
• Influences on business
• Business operations
• Human resources
• Marketing
• Finance

The subject content is divided into seven sections:

• Business activity
• Marketing
• People
• Operations
• Finance
• Influences on business

Two papers, covering:

• Influence of operations and HRM on business activity
• Business in the real world
• Influences on business
• Business operations
• Human resources
• Influence of marketing and finance on business activity
• Business in the real world
• Influences on business
• Marketing
• Finance

Two papers, covering:

• Paper 1
• Business activity
• Marketing
• People
• Paper 2
• Operations
• Finance
• Influences on business
• The interdependent nature of business

Both papers have two sections:

• Section A – 20 marks
• Section B and C – total 70 marks, approximately 35 marks each, with one business context in each section

Both papers have two sections:

• Section A – 15 marks
• Section B – 65 marks

There are three business contexts

• Purpose of business
• Reasons for starting a business
• Basic functions and types of business
• Business enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Dynamic nature of business

The role of business and entrepreneurship

• purpose of business activity
• characteristics of an entrepreneur
• concept or risk and reward

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Private limited companies (ltd)
• Public limited companies (plc)
• Not-for-profit organisations

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Private limited companies
• Public limited companies

• What are business aims and objectives
• Purpose of setting objectives
• Role of objectives in running a business
• Changing objectives
• Use of objectives in judging success

• The aims and objectives of business
• How and why objectives, might change as businesses evolve
• Why different businesses have different objectives

• Main stakeholders of businesses
• Objectives of stakeholders
• Impact of business activity on stakeholders
• Impact and influence stakeholders have on businesses

• Roles and objectives of internal and external stakeholders
• Effect of business activity on stakeholders
• Effect stakeholders have on business

• Main stakeholders of businesses
• Objectives of stakeholders
• Impact of business activity on stakeholders
• Impact and influence stakeholders have on businesses

• Roles and objectives of internal and external stakeholders
• Effect of business activity on stakeholders
• Effect stakeholders have on business

• The purpose of business planning
• The main sections within a business plan
• Basic financial terms
• Basic financial calculations

• The purpose of planning business activity
• The role, importance and useful ness of a business plan

• Methods of expansion
• Benefits and drawbacks of expansion
• Economies of scale
• Diseconomies of scale

• Organic growth

External growth

• E-commerce
• Digital communication

• Ethical considerations
• Environmental considerations
• Sustainability

• Ethical considerations and their impact on business
• Environmental considerations and their impact on business
• sustainability
• waste disposal
• pollution
• climate change

• Interest rates
• Levels of employment
• Consumer spending

• Employment law
• Health and Safety law
• Consumer law

• Impact of current legislation on recruitment and employment
• Impact of consumer law on business

• Impact on businesses of operating in competitive markets
• Uncertainty and risks businesses face

• Methods of production
• Efficiency in production

• Production processes – job, flow and batch
• Influence of technology – automation, computers, robotics

• Managing stock
• Factors affecting choice of suppliers
• The effects of procurement and logistics on business
• The value of effective supply chain management

Working with suppliers

• role of procurement
• impact of logistical and supply decisions on businesses

• Consequences of quality issues
• Methods of maintaining consistent quality
• Costs and benefits of maintaining quality

Quality of goods and services

• concept of quality
• methods of ensuring quality
• importance of quality in production of goods and provision of services

• Methods of good service
• Benefits of good customer service
• Dangers of poor customer service
• The ways in which advances in ICT have allowed customer services to develop

The sales process and customer service

• methods of selling – e-commerce, face to face, telesales
• importance of e-commerce
• importance of good customer service
• contribution of product knowledge and customer engagement

• Organisational structures
• Appropriateness of organisational structures
• Centralisation and decentralisation

• Different organisational structures
• Terminology of organisation charts
• Reasons for different organisational structures

• The need for recruitment
• Methods of recruitment and selection of employees
• Contracts of employment

• Why recruit?
• Methods of recruitment
• Methods of selection
• Organisational structures and different ways of working – ways of working

• Importance of motivation in the workforce
• Methods to motivate staff

• Financial methods of motivation
• Non-financial methods of motivation
• Importance of employee motivation
• Importance of employee retention

• Importance of training the workforce
• Types of training undertaken by businesses

• Training methods – induction, on the job, off the job training
• Why businesses train their workers
• Staff development
• Benefits to employees and businesses of staff development

• Purpose of market research
• Methods of market research to include primary and secondary
• Use of market research: information that may help decision making

• Purpose
• Methods – primary, secondary
• How appropriate different methods and sources of market research are for different business purposes
• Use and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data

• Pricing methods – the factors that influence pricing decisions
• Product
• product differentiation
• the product life cycle
• product portfolio
• Promotional methods – factors influencing the selection of the promotional mix, reasons for promotion
• Place (the different channels of distribution used by businesses)

• Product – stages in the product life cycle
• Pricing methods

Promotion – point of sale, advertising

• Place – distribution and services
• How the fours Ps work together
• Use of marketing mix in business decisions
• Interpretation of market data

• Methods businesses use to raise finance
• Appropriateness of sources of finance

• Reasons businesses need finance
• Ways of raising finance
• How and why different sources are suitable for new and established businesses

• Importance of cash to business
• Interpreting cash flow forecasts
• Difference between cash and profit

• Importance of cash to a business
• Difference between cash and profit
• Usefulness of cash flow forecasting
• Completion of cash flow forecasts

• Basic financial terms
• Basic financial calculations
• Average rate of return
• Break-even

• Concepts of revenue, costs and profit and loss in business
• Operating costs
• Calculation of costs and revenue, profit/loss
• Calculation and interpretation average rate of return
• Concept of break-even
• Calculation of break-even quantity
• Usefulness of break-even in business decision making

• Purpose of financial statements
• Components of financial statements
• Interpretation of data on given financial statements